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Monsoon season set to start up in Ariz.

Posted: Jun 13, 2012 | 2 min 52 sec

Get ready: Arizona's monsoon season is here – well, almost.

ASU climatologist Randall Cerveny says that although monsoon season begins June 15, after the National Weather Service recently defined this date as the monsoon's new seasonal start, forecasting the actual start of the Arizona monsoon remains cloudy.

The National Weather Service definition varies from the ASU one that says monsoon season begins on the third consecutive day with a dew point above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The Arizona monsoon is not well understood, says Cerveny, a professor in ASU's School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, and is thus difficult to forecast.